SATURDAY 8/27: TV Production Workshop

Falls Church City Television will hold a Field Production Workshop Saturday, Aug. 27,  from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the FCC-TV Studio at George Mason High School, 7124 Leesburg Pike, entrance off Haycock Road.

The workshop is an opportunity to obtain the skills necessary for producing programming for FCC-TV. It will feature a basic overview of television production in remote locations. Subjects include: lighting in the field; audio; field camera operation; on-camera reporting; storytelling; and tripod use.

Space is limited but additional workshops may be scheduled if there is enough interest.

The registration fee for the workshop is $50 for FCC-TV members and $60 for non-members, payable in cash or checks made out to FCCAC (Falls Church Cable Access Corporation).  Fees will be due at the time of registration.  Space in the workshop cannot be held until fees have been paid.

For more information contact Michael Palmrose, FCC-TV Supervisor, palmrosem@fccps.org or 703-248-5692.

FRIDAY 9/30: FCC-TV Student Photo & Video Contest

Students Invited to Enter Falls Church Community TV Photo and Video Contest Winners to Receive the Bob Morrison Prize

What better way for students to spend summer break than to tap into their creative talent and vie for a cash prize? Students with a still or video camera can do just that and compete for one of two, $250 Bob Morrison Prizes. This annual contest was created by the TV station’s Cable Access Board in memory of longtime board member Bob Morrison.

“Bob was a wonderful talent and a Falls Church icon,” said Cable Access Board President Barbara Cram. “He never left home without a camera, and as a result, he left us a treasure trove of golden memories. Through this contest, we hope to encourage young artists, as Bob often did, to take their best shot and capture the spirit of The Little City.”

The contest is open to students in grades K-12 (during the 2010-2011 school year) who live or attend school in Falls Church City. Students may submit photographs or videos illustrating the theme of “Falls Church City – My Hometown.” Entries will be judged on theme, quality and creativity by a three-person judging panel. The first place winner in each category will be awarded the $250 cash prize during the Falls Church Cable Access Corporation Annual Meeting in October.

Entry requirements can be found on the Falls Church City Television web site, www.fcctv.net. All entries must be received by 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 30. For more information call Mike Palmrose, 703-248-5692.

FRIDAY 6/10: Students Free at “Portraits in Black & White” Show

Special to the Falls Church Times

On Friday, June 10, students get in free to the 7:30 pm performance of “Tinner Hill: Portraits in Black and White“ at ArtSpace Falls Church, 410 S. Maple Avenue in the Pearson Square building.  This is a special performance for Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School students, faculty, staff and their families.  Diener & Associates will cover the price of tickets for students from MEHMS and GMHS. Also, $5 from every adult ticket sold to the Friday night show will be donated to the MEHMS PTA.  Everyone is welcome to attend the benefit performance.

This is the last weekend of performances of  “Portraits in Black & White,” a 90-minute original work of theater “ that tells the stories of Falls Church’s earliest settlers including educator Mary Ellen Henderson, the Brown family, Joseph Tinner and E.B. Henderson. Read more

Students Get Free Tickets to Show

By Falls Church Times Staff

The final weekend of performances of Tinner Hill: Portraits in Black and White is this Thursday through Sunday, June 9 – 12 at ArtSpace Falls Church.  The Friday, June 10 at 7:30 pm show is a special performance for Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School students, faculty, staff and their families.  Through a generous donation from Diener & Associates, students can attend FREE on Friday and Creative Cauldron will donate $5 from every adult ticket to the MEHMS PTA.  You need not be associated with MEHMS to attend Friday’s performance.  Everyone is welcome.

MEHMS students get in FREE to the Friday, June 10 performance of "Tinner Hill: Portraits in Black & White" through a donation from Diener & Associates. The 90-minute play continues Thursday through Sunday at ArtSpace, 410 S. Maple Avenue.

Through a series of monologues, ensemble scenes and music, Portraits in Black and White engagingly tells the history of early local civil rights activists E.B. Henderson and Joseph Tinner and educator Mary Ellen Henderson. 

Read more

Pay-What-You-Can Preview of “Tinner Hill: Portraits in Black and White”

By Falls Church Times Staff

Preview performances of Tinner Hill: Portraits in Black and White will be Thursday and Friday, June 2 and 3 at 7:30 pm and Saturday, June 4 at 2 pm at ArtSpace Falls Church.  The opening night performance is Saturday, June 4 at 7:30 pm. 

Creative Cauldron is restaging this original work of theater. The play runs Thursday through Sunday, June 2 - 5 and June 9 - 12 at ArtSpace Falls Church, 410 S. Maple Avenue. Thursday night performances are "Pay What You Can."

Creative Cauldron, in collaboration with the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation, is remounting this original work of theater based on the stories of local African American civil rights heroes.  Developed through funding from the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Arts Council of Fairfax County, the show played to standing ovations when it premiered last season.

Additional performances of Tinner Hill: Portraits in Black and White are Sunday, June 5 at 2 and 6 pm, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, June 9, 10 and 11 at 7:30 pm, Saturday, June 11 at 2 pm and Sunday, June 11 at 2 and 6 pm.  The Thursday evening performances are “Pay What You Can.”  Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students and seniors.  Reserve tickets at www.creativecauldron.org or call 571-239-5288.

Through a series of monologues, scenes and blues-inspired music, the production tracks the journey of resistance and resilience that began before the Civil War and continued well into the late 20^th Century.  Hull said “the play explores a history that doesn’t appear in official textbooks and helps us come to better understand the experience of being an African American in the early days of a growing and changing Virginia community.”  Some people will recognize the names of the people whose stories are told in Tinner Hill: Portraits in Black and White: E.B. Henderson, Joseph Tinner and Mary Ellen Henderson.

Tinner Hill was named for Charles and Mary Tinner, an African American couple who bought land there in the 1800s.  Their son, Joseph Tinner, organized the Colored Citizens Protective League in 1915 in response to a local ordinance that divided Falls Church into segregated black and white communities.  Tinner joined forces with local educator and civil rights leader E.B. Henderson to resist the measure.  Later, Falls Church became the first rural chapter of the NAACP, paving the way for other chapters across the South.

Creative Cauldron at ArtSpace is located at 410 S. Maple Avenue in the Pearson Square building.  There is free parking during performances in the garages at both 410 and 400 S. Maple Avenue.

Bee Documentary To Be Screened at ArtSpace

By FALLS CHURCH TIMES STAFF

"Queen of the Sun" is a documentary about the global bee crisis. The film will be screened at 7:30 pm on Thursday, May 26 at ArtSpace Falls Church, 410 S. Maple Avenue. Tickets are $20 and all proceeds will benefit Creative Cauldron.

“The Queen of the Sun: What are the Bees Telling Us?”  documentary film will be screened at 7:30 pm on Thursday, May 26 at ArtSpace Falls Church, 410 S. Maple Avenue.  The film, directed by Taggart Siegel, gives an alternative look at the global bee crisis.  Taking the audience on a journey through the catastrophic disappearance of bees and the mysterious world of the beehive, this engaging and ultimately uplifting film weaves an unusual and dramatic story of the heartfelt struggles of beekeepers, scientists and philosophers from around the world including Michael Pollan, Gunther Hauk and Vandana Shiva. Together they reveal both the problems and the solutions in renewing a culture in balance with nature.  

There will be a pre-screening reception at 7 pm.  Tickets are $20 and all proceeds will benefit Creative Cauldron, the nonprofit arts organization that is based at ArtSpace.  Advance purchase may be made at www.creativecauldron.org.

ArtSpace is located at 410 S. Maple Avenue in the Pearson Square building.   Free parking in the garages at 410 and 400 S. Maple Avenue.

SAT & SUN 5/21-5/22: Peter Pan Comes to Falls Church

Take a high-flying adventure to Never Never Land with The Kintz-Mejia Academy of Ballet’s production of Peter Pan, a swashbuckling coming of age tale that pits Peter and the Lost Boys against Captain Hook and his outrageous band of pirates. A whimsical adventure told through vibrant dancing, Peter Pan is the story about growing up that never seems to grow old. Performances are Saturday, May 21 at 2:00pm and 7:00pm and Sunday, May 22 at 2:00pm, George Mason High School Theater, 7124 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church. Tickets are $25 at the door. Contact Carolanne O’Neil at coneil@westassoc1.com or 703-893-0404 ext. 217 or visit www.kintzmejiaballet.com.

Arts Group “Kickstarts” a Funding Campaign

By FALLS CHURCH TIMES STAFF

How many times have you thought, “You can find anything on the Internet!”? Well, now you can find a way to raise money for a creative project using a new website called Kickstarter.   Creative Cauldron, a non-profit arts organization located at ArtSpace Falls Church, has launched a project on Kickstarter.com to raise funds to help underwrite some of the costs for its upcoming production of Tinner Hill: Portraits in Black and White.

Kickstarter.com is a website that is dedicated to helping artists and arts organizations raise monies for creative projects of all types and sizes.  It is an innovative way to involve and interest individuals in supporting a production or project.  Its website boasts that “Kickstarter is the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world.”

Creative Cauldron’s goal for its Kickstarter project is to receive at least $1,500 in pledges by June 2.  If more than $1,500 is pledged, they will receive more dollars.  If they do not get enough pledges by the deadline, Creative Cauldron will receive nothing.

The “all or nothing” funding approach on Kickstarter is designed to result in less risk for both creators and backers.  If a project needs $5,000 but only gets $2,000, there is still a group of people who expect the project to be completed.  That is a bit of pressure for an artist.  With this approach, an idea can be tested; if it doesn’t receive the support needed, the artist is not compelled to follow through on it.  And the “all or nothing” motivates people to give and to spread the word because they want to see the project happen.

Creative Cauldron is producing Tinner Hill: Portraits in Black and White, an original piece of theater that was created from the stories of Falls Church’s African American civil rights pioneers.   There will be 12 performances, Thursday through Sunday, June 2 – 5 and June 9 – 12, at ArtSpace Falls Church. 

Creative Cauldron is using a new website, kickstarter.com, to raise funding to underwrite production costs of "Tinner Hill: Portraits in Black and White."

The $1,500 goal through the Kickstarter campaign will cover only about 20% of the production costs.  Creative Cauldron is seeking funding from other organizations, and does not want to rely on only one source.

Creative Cauldron’s Founder and Producing Director, Laura Connors Hull, said “We believe that Tinner Hill: Portraits in Black and White is an important theatrical work and that’s why we are re-mounting it again this year. Kickstarter.com is a new, fun and specific way for individuals to get involved with Creative Cauldron. You can check out the Tinner Hill project on www.kickstarter.com.  The minimum pledge is $25 and every pledge level includes an appreciation reward.” 

Tinner Hill: Portraits in Black and White tells the story of the history of Falls Church.  Inspired by local history and mining documents, photographs and oral histories collected by The Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation, a collaborative team of actors, writers, scholars and historians created a theatrical piece of vignettes and monologues that tells the stories of Falls Church’s earliest settlers, both black and white.    For tickets and timing of performances, see www.creativecauldron.org.

Not coincidentally, the deadline for Creative Cauldron to raise $1,500 from the Kickstarter.com campaign is 7:00 pm on Thursday, June 2.  The preview performance of Tinner Hill: Portraits in Black and White is at 7:30 pm on Thursday, June 2.

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